"Come on, Laura!"

A small pebble thunked against the old wavy glass window. Laura slipped a bookmark in her book, and set it down. She leaned on her elbows and squinted out the window into the late afternoon sun.

Amy waved with her whole arm. "Laura, come out and play!"

Laura heaved the old wooden window open with a creak. It moved an inch and stopped. She thumped the corner of the frame with her palm but it wouldn't move. She lowered her head to call out to Amy through the narrow gap, but she couldn't make a sound.

Laura woke to the sunrise pouring in through her balcony windows in streaks of honey gold and amber. Why am I dreaming about Amy now? Is she telling me something?

August 21, Glacier Bay

Laura stepped barefoot onto the balcony into a brisk breeze, folding her arms close for warmth as she looked over the ocean and found no whales. She walked back into her room and slid the door shut behind her. She showered, dressed, and blow dried her hair. The sunrise gave way to clear morning light.

She caught an open elevator, and rode a few floors down to see that she beat the rush to the quiet breakfast buffet. She walked around a few stations to get her bearings. She passed chafing dishes filled with scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, sausages, and bacon. Further on, a row of cooks in chef's whites made omelets to order in dark French steel frying pans over portable burners. The large flat top grill that served mongolian grill was repurposed to make large, crispy Dosa to order.

The final station housed a large, hot pot of congee. Laura smiled. She filled a bowl with the glossy rice porridge and topped it with pickled greens, chili oil, peanuts, scallions, and a soft boiled egg. She grabbed a youtiao for dipping and poured herself a hot cup of oolong from a large silver samovar. Picking up her tray, she scanned the room for a table near an exit where she could keep her back to the corner of the room. Old habits. She set her tray down at an open table by the floor to ceiling windows.

She enjoyed a quiet minute with spoonfuls of hot porridge in front of the view of open water and the sunny and clear day unfolding. Then a familiar voice sounded over the growing buzz of the dining room.

"Laura!" Said Brian, waving. Juni followed behind him, carrying her own tray.

She waved. "Hi, Brian. We keep running into each other here."

He smiled, tipping his head toward Juni. "It's the easiest place to find something we both want to eat." She looked at their trays, Brian's carrying potatoes and an omelet and Juni's with plain toast and cereal.

Juni looked at her dad's plate and wrinkled her nose. "He always wants stinky eggs. I don't want gross eggs. Definitely not with ketchup."

Laura smiled above her steaming mug of tea. "Want to join? It's a great view."

"Sure. That OK with you, Juni?"

She nodded.

They set their trays down and started to eat together. Juni told them all a story about a play they watched in the ship's theater, waxing enthusiastically about the costume changes and the music. Then, she moved on to glaciers.

Her face lit up as she talked about them. "I REALLY want to see a glacier. I want to get a little cube and put it in my water bottle like an ice cube, and drink a glacier. Then I can tell all my friends when I go back to school."

Brian shook his head. "I don't think you can drink glaciers, Juni. We really want to keep them frozen, right?" He leaned back in his chair. He turned to Laura. "So, we have a glacier tour booked tomorrow. The ship is stopping at the Hubbard Glacier. It's a zodiac boat trip into the glacier area, and lunch."

Laura nodded. "Sounds fun. I'll just be glacier spotting from my balcony."

He stared out the window, weighing something then turned to Laura. "Would you want to come with us?"

"Oh."

"It's a private boat, chartered just for us. And Annaliese, I guess."

"The glaciers are where she recharges her ice powers," said Juni, chuckling mischievously.

"Can I get ice powers too?" Said Laura.

"No. Sorry. You're not Elsa."

Laura mimed dejection and hung her head. "Crap. That's a bummer."

Juni giggled.

She looked at Brian. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a fourth wheel."

He waved the thought away. "No way. I'd love to have you there."

"Ok then. Let's do it."

"Awesome. We'll leave tomorrow at 9."

—------------------

Laura woke the next morning. Francis came to the door with a tray of coffee and a croissant. She showered and dressed in what she called her 'Seattle winter uniform." Black jogger pants, a thin merino wool sweater, trail running shoes, and a Patagonia jacket. She considered glare from the glacier and packed sunglasses and gloves in a small cross-body bag.

She met Brian, Juni, and Annaliese on the promenade, which wrapped around the ship and held the lifeboats. A marked lane on the promenade doubled as the early morning jogging track. She looked over the railing and saw small, gentle waves and a clear, sunny morning. The ship slowed as it prepare to pull alongside the massive Hubbard glacier, the wake behind the ship's massive stern low and gentle.

"I'm glad you're coming, Laura." Said Brian. He squinted at the sun behind her and reached into his red down parka and pulled out a pair of aviator sunglasses.

Juni clung to Annaliese's arm. "I'm nervous about going on the boat."

Annaliese leaned down. "I know. We talked about this, Juni. It's a very safe boat, and a very beautiful trip."

"I know." She twisted in place. "But what if... we sink? The water looks really cold."

"Don't worry." Said Brian. "Our captain is really good. He'll make sure we don't sink. It's his job."

As if on cue, an older man in a navy blue uniform walked up to the group on the promenade. He wore a navy blue parka, a gray wool beanie, and rubber wellington boots. "Hi Folks. I'm Harold. I'll be your captain today on our glacier expedition." His close cropped gray hair rustled in the breeze, and he smoothed it down and adjusted his bristly mustache.

"Excuse me?" Said Juni.

"Yes, dear?"

"What if we sink?"

"Oh, don't worry about sinking. Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I've been a pilot on glacier tours for twenty years. That's... oh... at least ten years longer than you've been alive, don't you think? In all that time, we've never even sunk once. These little boats are inflatable. It would be like trying to sink a beach ball."

Juni nodded. "Okay. That's good."

He smiled. "I think so too. I have a granddaughter about your age. She loves the glaciers. Are you excited to see one?"

Juni let go of Annaliese's arm and bounced with a small little jump. "Yes. They're so pretty! I want to put some glacier ice in my water bottle. Then I can tell all my friends at school."

The captain leaned down. He put his hand on her shoulder and winked at her. "Okay. Let's see what we can do." He stood straight again and looked around the group. "Alright folks. Are we ready to see some glaciers?"

Everyone nodded.

"Great. But first, let's get outfitted. We need waterproof layers and life vests. 'Saluti primum, auxilio semper.' Safety first, service always." He waved the group down the promenade.

They walked a ways down, then stopped in front of a steel door. The captain swung the door open, revealing a supply closet full of life vests, rubber waders, and heavy rain jackets. He passed out waders, boots, and jackets to everyone. After some awkward hobbling, they stood kitted out head to toe in waterproof gear. Laura felt rigid and weighed down in the oversized boots and stiff, heavy waders that smelled like raw rubber.

Juni pretended to be a penguin, hobbling in her large life jacket and boots. They made their way to an elevator, and down to a lower deck. There, they walked through a small security checkpoint and to a large open door cut out of the side of the ship. An retractable metal walkway stretched down to the water, an inflatable Zodiac with an idling engine tethered to it.

They climbed on board, Brian offering a hand for Laura to climb on. The captain released the ropes, threw them back on the walkway, and made his way to the back of the small inflatable. He eased the throttle open, and they pulled away from the cruise ship with a clatter from the outboard motor.

Laura guessed the shore was about half a mile away, visible across the gentle waves. The thrum of the outboard motor and slap of the waves made conversation impossible. Soon, they came to the opening of a small bay, and the mouth of a glacier.

The zodiac motored close to the glacier's edge, weaving between floating chunks of calved glacier. The captain searched for the lowest and most gradual edge, then parked as close as he could to the shelf of ice. He unzipped a gear bag at his feet and pulled out two ice axes with long, jagged knife-like blades.

He shouted "stand clear, everyone!" He swung the first axe, burying it deep into the ice. He tied a sturdy rope through a hole in the handle and tied the other end around the cleats on the inflatable side of the ship. He swung the other axe, tying it down the same way. He turned off the motor, and the boat bobbed gently against the improvised mooring.

He climbed out of the ship, scrambled onto the hard ice, then turned to face the group and smiled broadly. His face glowed, underlit by the bright reflected sun on the pure white ice. "Now, who wants to stand on a glacier?"

He offered a hand to Brian first, who climbed up. He then hoisted Juni up. Annaliese followed. Laura climbed up last. The sides of the glacier were a white-to-blue ombre, but the surface shone brilliantly white. They stood for a few seconds in quiet awe at the ethereal, cold, and silent sight.

"It's so pretty!" squealed Juni. She clasped her hands in front of her life jacket and shook with excitement.

"It really is gorgeous." Said Brian.

Laura turned in a slow circle. Sea birds skirted overhead and landed in the quiet water near the glacier. "Seriously. Just wow."

"I hate to interrupt the reverie," said the captain. "But glaciers are famously unstable. We should get moving again in just a minute." He turned away from Juni. "If this section calves, we could be tossed into the water without our boat."

Laura grimaced. "Yikes."

The captain smiled, and held up his hand. "But, there is one thing I should do first." He slipped off his glove, and pulled a folding knife out of his pocket. He opened it with a quick flick. Laura instinctively reached to the front of her life jacket. The empty space where a holster would have been.

The captain dropped to one knee, and brushed some loose snow from the top of the glacier. He stabbed the knife into the surface, and wiggled it slightly. He pulled it out, and stabbed it in again at a right angle. Then again, and again. Laura and Brian traded questioning looks.

A second later, he pried a small, perfect cube from the ice. He handed it to Juni. "For your water bottle. Just keep it cold."

A minute later, the captain started the zodiac's outboard engine. He untied the ice axes and pulled them free, then eased them away from the glacier. They motored gently away, back into the open water. After a few minutes of driving into the cold breeze and salt spray, Laura squinted. It looked like they were driving straight into a propeller float plane, bobbing in the water.

They came closer, and the captain lowered the throttle. He pulled the zodiac alongside the plane. For a moment, they bobbed silently together in sync.

Laura turned to Brian. "What's happening?"

He smiled mischievously. "I said there would be lunch. This is our ride."